COMPASSIONATE RELEASE OF DYING INMATES: A STEP TOWARD SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Abstract Mr. John is a 60-year-old incarcerated male with advanced stage IV lung cancer that had metastasized. He was admitted to the hospital with significant pain and failure to thrive. Several lines of chemotherapy failed him, and he desired to be at home with his family as he approached the end of life. Unfortunately, he was unable to leave the hospital except to be back to prison. He was continually shackled to bed with 2 police officers in his room. The case highlights the need to advocate for compassionate release, that allows for the early release of terminally ill inmates who are not a danger to society, and offers tools and steps to help release hospitalized inmates to the care of their families. To obtain compassionate release, the first step is to identify eligible inmates with a terminal illness and a life expectancy of less than six months, which must be confirmed by a medical evaluation. The second step involves filing a petition for compassionate release with the appropriate authority, including medical records, a statement from the treating physician, and a plan for the inmate’s release and care in the community. The third step entails advocating for the inmate’s release, which may involve working with advocacy groups, contacting elected officials, and raising public awareness. By granting compassionate release to dying inmates, we can provide them with the opportunity to die with dignity and spend their final moments with their loved ones, which is a fundamental aspect of social justice.

As part of the criminal justice reform to reduce prison population, the State of Louisiana undertook an initiative to explore a medical treatment furlough project.The plan was to transition long-term inmates from the prison to long-term care (LTC)).Angola, the largest maximum security prison in the U.S, had over 1000 prisoners 60 years or older.Eighty percent of the prison population is serving a life sentence.Prisoners with significant health and mobility issues were to be considered to be released to off-site facilities with parole supervision.We present lessons learned from exploring all aspects of a possible partnership between a Louisiana long-term care company and the correction department including: conducting site visits at Angola and the long-term care facility; gathering best practice data; exploring a referral process and acuity classification tool; exploring the role of the parole officer; and examining the prison population against the regulations for long-term care facilities from the perspective of the prisoners and current residents.Additional considerations were the impact on the local community and on-going support for services provided, along with staffing, staff training, and security and safety of the facility.After multiple discussions with representative from the Louisiana Department of Health we found the obstacles were too great to implement the program.Exposure to the challenges facing the corrections department and examining how to implement the Act as written was a lesson in the value of viewing an issue from multiple perspectives.

COMPASSIONATE RELEASE OF DYING INMATES: A STEP TOWARD SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Gabriel Lutz 1 , Yulin Yang 2 , and Raya Kheirbek 1 , 1. University of Maryland School of Medicine,Baltimore,Maryland,United States,2. University of California,San Francisco,San Francsico,California,United States Mr. John is a 60-year-old incarcerated male with advanced stage IV lung cancer that had metastasized.He was admitted to the hospital with significant pain and failure to thrive.Several lines of chemotherapy failed him, and he desired to be at home with his family as he approached the end of life.Unfortunately, he was unable to leave the hospital except to be back to prison.He was continually shackled to bed with 2 police officers in his room.The case highlights the need to advocate for compassionate release, that allows for the early release of terminally ill inmates who are not a danger to society, and offers tools and steps to help release hospitalized inmates to the care of their families.To obtain compassionate release, the first step is to identify eligible inmates with a terminal illness and a life expectancy of less than six months, which must be confirmed by a medical evaluation.The second step involves filing a petition for compassionate release with the appropriate authority, including medical records, a statement from the treating physician, and a plan for the inmate's release and care in the community.The third step entails advocating for the inmate's release, which may involve working with advocacy groups, contacting elected officials, and raising public awareness.By granting compassionate release to dying inmates, we can provide them with the opportunity to die with dignity and spend their final moments with their loved ones, which is a fundamental aspect of social justice.

ASSET-BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOR DEMENTIA-FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES (ABCD FOR DFC): A PILOT PROJECT IN HONG KONG
Cheryl Chui 1 , Shiyu Lu 2 , On Fung Chan 1 , and Terry Lum 1 , 1.The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong,

City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
There is little understanding about how a dementiafriendly community can be constructed in East Asian societies, particularly in geographically remote areas characterized with majority older adult residents and limited external support.A pilot project using an asset-based community development (ABCD) approach in constructing a dementia-friendly community in Hong Kong was implemented.Informed by the theoretical tenets of ABCD, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of this pilot project in enabling older adult residents and other community stakeholders to better respond to challenges resulting from growing prevalence of dementia.Multiple stakeholder interviews were conducted with older adult residents, church leaders, district councillors, and social workers.Participants were asked to share the strengths and challenges of this ABCD pilot project in building a dementia-friendly community.Data generated from interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.Four key preliminary themes were identified, including on the individual level: enhanced dementia literacy, and enacted proactive behaviour; and on the community level: strengthened bridging social capital, and improved community caring capacity.Uncertain long-term financial and professional support posed challenges to participants.Nevertheless, findings underscore the importance of departing from traditional service delivery models, to one that infuses ABCD approaches in constructing a dementiafriendly community.Mobilising existing human and social capital in the community, and embedding older adults in co-creating solutions are key to improve dementia-related interventions.We contribute to ongoing theoretical and practice discussions on the intersections between population aging and employing community-based solutions to create a more dementia-friendly society.

STRATEGIES FOR OLDER ADULT AND INFORMAL CAREGIVER INVOLVEMENT IN HEALTH POLICY DEVELOPMENT: STAKEHOLDERS' VIEWS
Opeyemi Kolade 1 , Joshua Porat-Dahlerbruch 2 , Saritte Perlman 3 , Theo van Achterberg 4 , and Moriah Ellen 5 , 1. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet,HaDarom,Israel,2. University of Pittsburgh,Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,United States,3. Ben Gurion University of the Negev,Beersheba,Israel,4. KU Leuven,Leuven,Belgium,5. Ben Gurion University of the Negev,Beer Sheva,HaDarom,Israel Older adults and informal caregivers' involvement in policy-making processes can enhance the creation of responsive policies and the provision of better health and well-being services.However, current involvement literature is more focused on involvement in research and healthcare decision-making.This research aims to explore stakeholders' perspectives on approaches for the involvement of older adults and informal caregivers in health policy development.A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted within the European TRANS-SENIOR consortium and included policymakers, researchers, and advocacy organizations in nine countries.Participants were included if they had experience with older adult/informal caregiver involvement in health policy development.A total of eighteen interviews were conducted with nine representatives from older adult/informal caregiver advocacy organizations, five policymakers, and four researchers.Identified themes were: 1) diversity of involvement approaches, 2) impact of involving older adults and informal caregivers in health policy development, and 3) facilitators and barriers of involvement.Findings indicated that older adult and informal caregiver involvement vary in nature and intensity and that the actual effect of older adult and informal caregiver involvement in health policy development is difficult to assess.There is no one-size-fits-all approach for involving older adults and informal caregivers in health policy development; stakeholders can focus on exploring and implementing context-specific tailored strategies.Our study findings provide evidence that can be useful to decision-makers to involve older adults and informal caregivers in health policy development.

VOICES FROM THE INSIDE: MEDICAL TREATMENT FURLOUGH IN THE LARGEST STATE PENITENTIARY IN US: LESSONS LEARNED Jolie
Harris, Louisiana State University Health Science Center New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, United Sta tes